


Ocean Eyes

by lymerikk



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Pirate, Canon Genderbending, F/F, Genderbending, Pirate and Mermaid, mermaid
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-02
Updated: 2014-10-02
Packaged: 2018-02-19 14:49:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2392298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lymerikk/pseuds/lymerikk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alice Kirkland, proud pirate and captain of her ship, the Blue Unicorn. Her rival sails the seas too close to her, she and her crew are near starving, they're way too far out at sea to go and buy food.. You know, the usual. Everything is normal, until her crew fishes up a rambunctious mermaid who turns Alice's world upside down. Fem!USUK. Pirate!England, Mermaid!America.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Catch of the Day

"Can we eat it?"

"I don't know, but we're at the point where even our shoes look tasty.."

"We have to ask the captain, idiot!"

The crewmates' chatter was interrupted by a thundering voice.

"What must you ask of me?" the captain, a fierce woman by the name of Alice Kirkland exclaimed, having just come up from her cabin. She had been resting, as the boat was anchored for the day.

"Captain!" The men replied quickly, saluting her and straightening where they stood. "We were fishing and we caught something very out of the usual, m'am!"

"Hmm," murmured Alice, frowning as she went over to inspect.

Within the tangles of the net lay a.. a person? That's what Alice thought, at first. Tanned and smooth skin was visible beneath the thinner black ties of the net, and she reached down to touch it. Doing so apparently woke whatever was resting within, as the net began to flip and shake suddenly. Before Alice could even order her men to hold down the rampant contents of the net, said net was flipped away, and the creature became untangled.

That it was, a creature. The top half appeared to be that of a naked woman, whereas the bottom half was that of a fish, with blue scales leading up her belly. She had a long and matted clump of blonde hair, too, that looked in desperate need of some combing. But most importantly, she was still moving about aggressively, trying to hide from the terribly confused pirates around her.

"A mermaid.." mumbled Alice, staring down at the being with curiosity in her lime green eyes. Well, eye. One of them was covered with an eyepatch. "I've only read about them in old lore books.."

"Surely this can't be-" one of the crewmembers whimpered, backing away in fright. "It's a siren of the sea! Quick, we must get rid of it!"

"You shall do no such thing, you hear me?" Alice snarled, turning to face her inferior with fire in her expression. "The poor creature is more scared of us than we are of her."

The mermaid seemed to vaguely understand, and lamely nodded her head, tail flapping aimlessly against the wood of the deck. Alice crouched in front of her, frowning.

"Will you dry out if you are up here for too long?" she asked quietly, resting her elbows on her knees. The mermaid nodded. "Right then. Men, fetch me a rowboat!"

She had to admit, this mermaid was actually quite beautiful. Then again, the legends had said that all mermaids were spectacular and gorgeous creatures, thin with long flowing hair and pale alabaster skin. This one was quite stout, darker tanned skin and a knotted mane. Perhaps the legends weren't accurate at all.

Using all of her strength, Alice scooped up the chubby mermaid, and carried her across the deck to where a few crewmembers were readying a rowboat for her, as ordered. In her arms, the creature was making weak bubbling noises and clinging on for dear life. She sat in the boat as the men lowered it, having placed the strange creature down as well. When the mermaid rolled over a little and her hair shifted, Alice noted a small set of gills on either side of her throat. Ah, it made sense now.

As the boat touched down in the water, Alice tried to usher the mermaid into the water. "Come on, you would dry out should you stay upon my ship. Off you hop." The mermaid hesitated, just staring down at the water with longing blue eyes. "You can clearly swim, so off you get." insisted Alice.

As if trying to explain, the creature flipped her tail a little more, and pet at it with one chubby hand. Alice leant forward, and examined. One of the mermaid's fins was torn at the tip, and it looked rather nasty.

"You can't swim with that injury, can you?" murmured Alice, frowning. "Would you be able to float if something was holding you up?" The mermaid looked up in thought for a moment, before nodding. And so, she offered her hands.

The mermaid stared at them for a moment, tilting her head. "You put your hands in mine, alright?" Alice sighed, flexing her fingers a little to show. The creature slowly did as instructed. "Okay, I'm going to help you into the water for now." Being very careful, Alice moved her hands to the side and gently aided the mermaid's tail into the water, and then the rest of her body. She made sure to hold on tightly.

"Now, don't let go of my hands, alright?" Alice sighed quietly. "Can you talk? You seem to understand what I'm saying."

"Yup!"

It was an accent like Alice had never heard before, and she was very shocked to hear the mermaid speak at all. "O-oh, that's good. What's your name? I'm Captain Alice Kirkland of the Blue Unicorn."

"Amelia," she said quietly, puffing out her cheeks. "Hello Captain-Alice-Kirkland-of-the-Blue-Unicorn."

"Just call me Alice." she laughed. "The Blue Unicorn's my ship. I must say, I've been very intrigued in the concept of mermaids since I was just a little girl."

"I'm not very interested in humans," retorted Amelia, blunt and unknowingly offensive.

"Fair enough," Alice nodded weakly. "So, what happened to your fin?.."

"Human," the mermaid muttered sourly, trying to flick it beneath the water, and frowning; it did not kick like it used to. "A pirate, not a nice one like you." Alice raised one of her thick brows. Amelia thought she was nice? Not many people would ever associate such a word with  _Alice Kirkland_. Then again, Amelia had not seen her in battle.

"How awful." Alice sighed quietly, looking down to the bobbing mermaid. "Do you know his name?"

"No," pouted Amelia. "He kept me locked up, smelled funny, and tried to touch me in places."

"I think I may know who you're talking about." Alice sighed quietly.

Amelia nodded lamely. "And I tried to escape his ship, and one of his underhumans threw a sharp stick at me."

"It would be a spear or harpoon," mumbled Alice, rubbing the top of Amelia's hand with her thumb. "And the man in question is probably Francis Bonnefoy. He does not deserve the title of 'captain'."

"Yeah.." Amelia mumbled, looking down and frowning.

"You don't have anywhere to go, do you?.." Alice sighed quietly, looking to the mermaid with a pitiful gaze. "If you wish, you can stay aboard my ship until your fin has healed." Seemingly shy, Amelia lowered herself in the water a touch, hiding her mouth and blowing bubbles in the water. She acted like a child.

Alice frowned. "I can understand if you resent pirates, but I assure you, I am nothing like Bonnefoy." Amelia meekly nodded, and pulled herself up so that she could talk.

"How'd I be able to stay on board?.. I'd dry out and get sick.."

"A washtub can be put aside for you and filled with seawater. You would be able to soak and whatnot. And the water could be changed whenever we're anchored or going slow." Alice said after a moment of thought.

"Okay, that sounds good," Amelia dipped her head slightly. "Can we sort that out now?"

"Of course. Here, hold on tight." Alice squeezed Amelia's hands in her own, and tried to tug the mermaid back onto the rowboat. It seemed that their hands, as they had been close to the water, had become wet and slippery, and Amelia escaped Alice's grasp for a moment, dropping into the ocean below.

Panicking, Alice leant forward, throwing her head underwater and managing to grab Amelia from beneath the arms, and tried to lift with all she had. Amelia was too bloody heavy for Alice to lift back up, and she had not exactly readied herself for this. On that note, she could not swim. Alice vaguely heard splashes in the water around her before blacking out.


	2. He's Alive?

Alice awoke to her crew staring down at her. She coughed, clearing the water that sullied her breathing, and sat up. What the hell had happened? Oh, right. That mermaid, Amelia, had accidentally pulled her off the rowboat and almost drowned her. Luckily, her crew had been curiously watching the two and dived in to rescue her. It was a little silly, a mighty pirate captain that could not swim. Alas, she never learned as a child living in Britain, and she argued that she never would.

"Captain, are you alright?" a crewmember asked, and she jolted to attention.

"Mm? Oh, yes. I'm soaking and cold, but other than that, I'm just dandy." she mumbled, stretching and frowning. "Where's the mermaid? If you did not rescue her as well, I will be quite angry."

"She was clinging onto the ship, Captain. Refused to let go until she knew you were safe."

Alice let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding, and relaxed her muscles.

"In fact, she's on deck right now, and she demanded a washtub or something."

"Fetch one for her," she sighed, running a hand through her short-cut blond hair. It was short-cut as she had sawn off the pigtails she had bore once upon a time, finding that they would flick everywhere and only hindered her in fights. "Fill it with seawater, and let her sit in it."

The crewmember nodded weakly and headed out to do as ordered. Alice slowly got to her feet and stretched. Her coat was probably soaked by now; she noted that it had been hung up on a coat rack beside her bed. Sighing, she just went out to the deck wearing her ragged undershirt and plain trousers. She cared not to put on shoes for now.

"Alice!" Amelia cried as she caught sight of the captain. "You're okay!"

"Yes, yes," she mumbled, helping the crewmembers in moving the mermaid into the washtub. Amelia did her best to shuffle into it properly, and was quick to hide her head underwater. She broke the surface with a grin, wiping the water from her eyelashes. "I'm fine. How are you?"

"Well, I couldn't have drowned," she puffed, crossing her arms and rolling over within the wooden tub. "I just would've sunk."

"I see.." Alice sighed, grabbing onto one end of the washtub and trying to push. It went nowhere, and Amelia raised a brow.

"What're you doing?" she huffed softly, crossing her arms.

"You can't just stay out on deck," she mumbled. "So you're going to be staying in my cabin, if that's alright with you. I don't want any more crewmembers freaking out because we have a mermaid on board. One of the more superstitious men is already in hysterics, actually." She tried pushing again, to no avail.

"Maybe I should get out before you try moving it," the mermaid laughed softly, reaching over the sides of the tub and lifting herself out. She was very clumsy as she tried to bring her tail out of the water, landing awkwardly on the planks of the deck. Alice just shrugged and actually pushed the tub along the deck, and then down to her cabin. She returned shortly for Amelia, and did her best to help the creature flop toward the cabin.

Amelia hurriedly returned to the washtub, laying in the water and flicking the end of her tail ever now and then; it was too long to fit in the tub fully, and instead drooped over the edge. Alice sat down on her bed, tired. "Today's been fun," she mumbled. "Met a mermaid, almost drowned, let said mermaid stay in my cabin."

"That's pretty fun," hummed Amelia, putting her hands to the ground and inching the tub a little closer to the captain's bed.

"Here," mumbled Alice, shuffling over a touch and gently putting her hands to Amelia's matted hair. "Let me fix it for you." Amelia went silent for a moment, and nodded. It took quite a while, but with determination and concentration, Alice managed to untangle the knots and gently comb Amelia's hair with her fingers.

"Thank you.." the mermaid said softly, playing with her untangled wavy hair and frowning a little.

"Is something wrong? You've gone all quiet." Alice sighed, wiping the water from her hands onto her trousers.

"A human I know used to do that for me all the time, just like you did." Amelia cooed quietly, blue eyes softening in memory. "I left his island one evening only to be captured by that other captain."

"How awful," she mumbled, gently petting the mermaid's shoulder. "He was important to you?"

"Yes," Amelia sniffled, as if she was about to cry. It seemed she was holding back the tears, though. "He was like a brother to me, although he's a human. When my fin heals, I'm going to go to his island again!"

"Do tell, what was this man's name? And you say 'his island'?"

"It's his island, 'cos he was beached on it when I found him." Amelia said quietly, fiddling with her webbed fingers. "He thought he was gonna drown for sure, but I rescued him."

"His name, dear," Alice mumbled.

"Matthew?.."

Alice's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. No. Way. "That's impossible-" she said quickly, gawking.

"W-what? What's impossible?" the mermaid refuted with a confused pout, wondering why Alice had lit up like that all of a sudden.

"Matthew's my first mate!" she exclaimed. "I thought he drowned years ago!" Alice wiped her eyes, and stood up. "Amelia, tell me where this island is!" Hesitantly, Amelia relayed the location, and just watched the captain get up and rush to the door.

"Wait, where're you going?"

"To plot a course and open the sails! We have an island to find!"

* * *

"But Captain, we were supposed to be anchored for the whole day today," a crewmember whined as Alice dashed about to unfurl sails and speak to the navigator and whatnot.

"That must wait! First Mate Williams' location has been revealed! He's alive!" she hollered with vigor, a grin set upon her lightly freckled face. There was a round of chatter between crewmates, and action burst throughout the ship. The anchor was raised quickly, and sails were unfurled. From what Amelia described, the island wasn't even too far away!

After setting the ship in motion, Alice returned to her cabin. "And now, we're heading in the right direction!"

"It's all shaky," Amelia complained softly, slumping back in the washtub.

"But we get to see Matthew!" she cried, practically buzzing with excitement at the prospect of seeing her closest friend once again.

Her excited exclamations were cut off as her stomach let out a growl, and she bent over as if that would shut it up.

"You hungry?" asked Amelia with a frown.

"N-no," Alice stammered quickly, not wanting to raise worry from her companion. "I'm just fine. Let's just sail and wait, mm?-"

The mermaid pouted, looking down to her hands and fiddling. "If I could swim right now, I could catch fish for you.."

"Please, don't worry yourself." Alice negated. "I'm just fine. I'll eat later." She lied with a little smile. What would she eat? They had run out of food a day and a half ago, and the crew seemed to be running on fumes. The weapons expert/cook, Yao, seemed to have some disgusting herbal roots that were edible, but he forced any takers to pay a high levy, as he held the only food on the ship. Alice would rather starve than eat such disgusting foreign plants. The navigator, Ivan, bought them up by the dozen. Where he even got the coin, Alice had no idea. She reminded herself to investigate that.

"You'd better, 'kay? You'll get sick if you don't eat." Amelia chided, frowning.

"Is there food on the island?" Alice asked quietly, changing the subject a touch.

"Duh. That's how Matthew lives there. He eats the fruit and fish and stuff." She nodded, rolling over in the tub and looking up at the captain with adoring eyes. "Also, when can I eat?"

"Oh, erm.." mumbled Alice, frowning. "I'll.. er, I'll get you something now." She stood, grabbed some coin out of her coat pockets, and charged down to the lower deck.

"Yao!" she called, annoyed that she was even doing this. Yao was a stingy and greedy man, and Alice doubted he would approve of having another mouth to feed upon the ship. "Yao, I've got coin." As if that was the trigger word, the little man appeared from the kitchen. He was clearly foreign, sleek black hair tied back in a bun and thin copper eyes glaring at the captain.

"You wish to buy, Alice?" he scoffed, hands in the pockets of his apron. "This is a surprise."

"I've succumb to my hunger, and I'm here to buy some of your bloody stupid roots." She mumbled, irritated that her pride was being staked here. "Here, take it." Alice spat, practically throwing a collection of gold at Yao. He caught it all, looking it over to see if it was worth it. He nodded, and tucked the coin away into his pockets.

"I've still got a few within the pantry, but I'll have you know that prices will just go up as quantity goes down." Yao mused, tossing her a thick bulbous root before smirking and wandering off. Probably to admire his new money.

Grumbling curses upon the Chinaman's name, Alice returned to her cabin, and passed the root to Amelia. "Here you are." The mermaid took it into her hands, looking it over for a moment before curiously nibbling at it. Deciding it wasn't going to kill her, Amelia took a crunchy bite.

"You want some?" Amelia said, mouth still full of root as she offered the gnawed-on tuber to Alice.

"I ate my own on the way back." She lied. Perhaps her belly growled right then to tell her it was hardly virtuous to lie.

"Okay," the mermaid chirped, finishing off her root in only a minute.

"What now?" she asked, looking up to the captain with wide eyes. "I've never done boat travel before."

Alice sighed and distractedly played with one of Amelia's curls. "Now, we sail, and wait until the man in the crows nest cries ' _land ho!_ '"


	3. One Blessing, One Curse

Alice's raging stomach woke her the next morning. Damn it, how long had it been since she had eaten more than a tiny morsel? Too long, she thought. When she opened her eyes, she found her gaze met by Amelia's orbs of blue.

"You're awake!" the mermaid cooed, reaching forward and grabbing Alice's cheeks with cold and damp hands. Alice jolted back, reflexively kicking her thin blanket at Amelia. It landed in the washtub, and she groaned.

"I'm certainly awake now," she muttered to herself. Amelia smiled even as the pirate lifted the now soaked linen from the tub, and carried it over to a rack to hang it on.

"Oh yeah, I heard some human up there say the thing you said." Amelia nodded surely.

"That thing I said?" Alice repeated, incredulous. She stretched and ran a hand through her messy mop of hair, before going to the coat rack and putting on her grand red and gold coat.

"Land ho!" cooed Amelia, throwing her hands up in the air and effectively splashing water everywhere.

"Right." she mumbled. "Since you're my guide, I'll need you down on the rowboat with me. You'll last from ship to shore, won't you?" Amelia nodded.

Alice burst through her cabin door and enthusiastically raced to the deck, where her crew greeted her and gave her news of their location. She scurried over to the edge of the ship, hands clasping at the railing as she stared over at the pretty island in front of her eyes.

She could see a white and sandy beach, the inner edges shaded by thick trees and smooth rocks. For a small island, it looked quite nice. Probably no object worth plundering, but there was still that whisper of hope that her precious first mate would be there, and Alice's heart was set on finding him. Also, food was a possibility. She went back down to her cabin to tell Amelia the news, and help her up to deck.

After the struggle of getting the mermaid into the rowboat – and getting many odd looks from crewmembers in the process – Alice began to hurriedly move the oars and lead her crew to the island's shore. As the bottom of the wooden craft touched on sand, Alice hopped out and hurriedly pulled it up the beach. It was hard, considering the heavy cargo, but Alice's enthusiasm added greatly to her strength, and she managed it. Once the boat was safely beached, Amelia flipped herself out of the vessel and dragged herself toward the lapping waves.

"There'll probably be food on this island," called Alice as her crew followed suit in beaching their dinghies. "So you're searching for sustenance as well as First Mate Williams!" She ordered, pointing towards the lusher side of the island. Lowering her voice, she turned her attention to the mermaid lamely flopping about in the waves. "Come, Amelia, do you know where he is?"

"Yeah," she bubbled, seeming to just be enjoying the water.

"Then stop playing in the surf and help me find him."

It didn't take very long for Amelia to crawl up the beach and start leading Alice forward. It took even less time to find a little mud hut and fire pit. As a collection of leaves crinkled under Amelia's bulky body, a scruffy looking man appeared out of the hut.

His face was scritchy with stubble and his hair was overgrown, but Alice instantly recognized him. The man's jaw dropped. "Alice!" he cried, scrambling toward her. She opened her arms for him to dive into, and she held him tightly against her chest.

"I thought you were gone," Alice mumbled, hiding her face in the man's shoulder. She wouldn't admit that she was crying. "I thought I'd never see you again.."

"I'm happy," Matthew said quietly; his voice was hoarse as he had not talked in quite some time, and he was out of practice.

Lamely, and feeling a bit left out, Amelia flopped towards the two and hugged both of their legs. Alice and Matthew crouched, and they both put an arm around their mermaid friend. After Matthew had gathered up his belongings – a few fish that both Alice and Amelia eyed hungrily, a sharpened stone-tip spear, and a ratty and tattered blue coat – he began to head out to the shore again with Alice and Amelia in tow.

Alice felt her heart stop when she saw smoke in the sky. Hurriedly, she pushed past the trees and jumped down to the shore's white sand. She ignored the uncomfortable squeaking sound it made. Well, at least the smoke hadn't been coming from the Blue Unicorn, as predicted. She couldn't decide if it was better or worse that the  _Morsure de Requin_ was the one emitting the smoke. From one of her cannons.

Bonnefoy, the fucking bastard! Alice cursed him with every cuss and sullied syllable she could think of as she stared at the gaping hole in the side of her ship. How dare he! Attacking her pride and joy like that while she was rescuing her first mate! Alice made loud orders for the carpenters amongst her crew to hurry back to the ship. And, of course, the  _Morsure de Requin_  was already turning tail and heading off in the other direction. How  _dare_  he.

"Looks like we'll be staying here until she's patched up," Alice mumbled softly. "Hope you don't mind hosting the crew for a few days, old friend."

"I don't mind at all," Matthew sighed softly, reaching for and gently squeezing the captain's hand to comfort her. Despite the whispers around deck when Matthew had last been with the crew, he and Alice's relationship was strictly platonic, albeit they were very close friends. In all honesty, Alice acted like Matthew's loving mum more than anything.

They set up camp by the beach that evening, with Alice staying mostly at the edge of the tide and watching her mermaid companion flounder about. Matthew sat at her side, and together, they all watched the sunset. Alice was still distressed over that wound on the Blue Unicorn, but Matthew and Amelia quickly soothed her each time her anxieties rose. She swore revenge upon the Frenchman, and declared that the next time the  _Morsure de Requin_  came close, she and her crew would board and ransack the damned ship.

Alice had set her crew to make for a large campfire, and they all greedily tucked into whatever fruits or game they had come upon. Being a relatively honest lot, they shared about what tucker they'd claimed, and made sure everyone was well-fed tonight.

"Your ship has a hole in it," Amelia yawned as she shuffled up the damp sand to join the pirates around the fire. Somehow, she had managed to catch a small fish that had been flopping about in shallow waves, and she put it in Alice's lap as a gift. Alice looked at it for a moment, before taking the pike she'd been toasting a thin root on, and swapping said root for the fish. It'd been a long time since she'd had a proper meal, and although roots, a little fish, and a few pieces of fruit hardly counted as a full meal, it was certainly better than her half-a-piece-of-fish-if-you're-lucky diet of previous.

"I know that," nodded Alice, hiding her contempt at the notorious Frenchman captain who had blown that hole into her ship. "Thank you for the fish."

"Mattie, you can have like a bite, but the rest is for Captain." Amelia puffed with a smirk, giving each of her human friends a look.

"How generous of you, Amelia."

They sat in front of the fire for the rest of the evening, with Alice nodding off before she could eat the fish. Amelia was still awake, though, and she placed the cooked fish on Alice's chest for when she woke up. Matthew had gone off to dreamland even earlier.

Alice jolted awake the next morning, breath short and heavy, and tears pricking at her eyes. Amelia had risen before she had, and was watching her from where the waves met sand. After flopping – and honestly, flopping is the best word to describe it – up toward the crew, she looked up to the sitting Alice with wide and curious eyes.

"You all right?" she puffed, prodding the captain in the chest.

"The fish scared me," Alice lied quietly, gingerly picking up the floppy thing and looking it over. It would be cold now. Regardless, she did not wish to hurt Amelia's feelings, and she took a bite.

"'Kay," Amelia sighed softly, shuffling even closer and laying her head down on Alice's lap. "Does it taste nice?"

"Yes." She nodded, and ate another mouthful. "Must you lay on me? You're getting my leg all wet."

"Sorry," huffed Amelia, but she did not move. "What are we gonna do today, Alice?" Alice found Amelia's mannerism childlike, and let it endear her for now.

"Today, we're going to go and help mend my ship." Alice said softly. She didn't wish to wake Matthew or any other crewmembers just yet.

"Awesome!" Amelia cried loudly, shattering Alice's previous wish. Matthew roused in a few moments, and stretched. It was not long after that that the crew set back towards the Blue Unicorn in rowboats stocked with food; they were to focus on mending the gaping hole in her side today.

When Alice saw the damage up close, she was enraged. A cannonball had been fired directly into the ship's belly, splintering the planks and ripping a hole into her. She was furious, to say the least. And so, she put her anger to good use, taking it as fuel and turning it into pure ship-fixing fury.

They had left Amelia at the shore, assuring her that they would come back once the ship was fixed; she was too much of a burden to carry back and forth too many times. Their assurance didn't stop the mermaid from fretting and staring up at the vessel, wondering if she was just going to be left behind.

Alice's return to the island was greeted with a desperate embrace, in which Amelia clutched to the captain's legs and refused to let go.

"I say, release me at once!" Alice commanded, but her words were lost.

"Alice!" Amelia cried, nuzzling her damp cheek against Alice's pale leg. "I thought you weren't coming back, and you were just gonna leave me, and I was gonna be all alone!"

"Now, now, I wouldn't do that to you," Alice sighed quietly, crouching and touching gently at the mermaid's soggy hair. "You've got knots again."

They headed back to the ship via rowboat, and Alice sat Amelia in the washtub, the one still located in her cabin. She went out to the deck and commanded her crew, mighty as ever. This time, after being bothered by Captain Bonnefoy for so long, Alice was going to react. They were to follow the trade route Francis was following, and to strike him and his coin hard.

The sailing itself was mediocre, but Alice spent plenty of her time in the cabin with Amelia, just idling or chatting about their differing worlds. Amelia had many questions about humans and their lives, despite what she had said when Alice had first come upon her. Alice had just as many about the sea.

"Will going after him be dangerous?" asked Amelia, one hand on Alice's back. Alice didn't know exactly how she'd gotten to this position, but she believed it had something to do with Amelia's new found love for hugs. She was resting lamely against the mermaid, embraced tight. Her clothes were still on, thankfully, but they were soaked by now; she didn't know whether to cry because she was cold, or rejoice that she wasn't pressed up against this playful mermaid while naked.

"Yes." She answered simply, absently trailing her fingers along Amelia's tanned shoulder. "But I'm sick of taking the hits he delivers and shaking them off."

"Is he a bad man?" Amelia insisted, voice dropping a little as she pouted over Alice's shoulder. "He was bad to me, but that doesn't answer the question." Alice hesitated, having to seriously think. The necklace that fell just at her chest seemed to burn with memory. She ignored it.

"I don't have an answer for you." She mumbled. It was complicated.

Thankfully, Alice and her crew had stocked up on plenty of food on their two days on the island, and they could eat again properly. Everyone was put in high spirits, and furthermore, readied for the battle that would come only a few days later.

They docked at this island, as it was a trade isle, one set with piers and harbors and whatnot. And, just as predicted, the  _Morsure de Requin_  sat amongst the waters and docks, still flying that ugly orange flag. Alice's stomach churned with anger. They went into the town for that day, buying resources, food and alcohol. When everyone returned, Alice changed the water in Amelia's washtub and spent the afternoon at her side. "I'll be back." she told her as she put on her coat.

Night fell, and it was time for the attack. Bearing her pistol and cutlass, Alice led half of her crew to the ship. They were to be quiet at first, and then they were to bombard the sleeping cabins, kill those inside, and reach Francis. Alice had first dibs on whatever nasty things they would do to him. They charged the cabins, Alice's men storming into the rooms on either side of the corridor. Alice had failed to take notice of the man in the crow's nest.

By the time she reached the end of the corridor, all of her men had dove into the rooms to the sides, leaving her alone to face Francis. Unintentionally, of course. Alice didn't mind. She approached with baited breath, before eloquently kicking down the captain's door.

Francis looked up from where he had been reading, and simply swirled the red liquid in his glass. Alice hated him with every fiber of her being. She was worked up and huffing, and he was sitting there, fucking  _drinking wine_  and seeming not to care that his ship was currently victim of a raid.

"Long time, no see," Francis hummed, sipping at his wine and leaning an elbow on his desk.

"You blew a bloody hole in my ship a few days ago!" Alice shouted, storming towards the man and drawing her cutlass. "I count that as seeing you, and seeing you made me feel sick!"

"I hope you feel better now, Alice," he sighed, furrowing his brow. "Was it really necessary to have your men charge in and attack my crew like that?"

Alice tensed. "How-"

"Oh, yes, I saw the Blue Unicorn come to the docks this morning. I assumed this much would happen,  _mon cher_." Francis shrugged, and put down his glass. "Despite what I tried to teach you, you still  _always_  fall for the bait, Alice."

"I do not! Shut up!" Alice snarled, pointing the tip of her blade to the Frenchman's throat. "Shut your mouth or I'll shut it for you!"

"You used to be polite," Francis cried dramatically, clearly putting it on. "Dear, sweet Alice!" Alice threatened to stab him through the throat. At this, Francis stood, and picked out a cutlass of his own from behind his desk. "I hope you remember how to fight."

Alice lunged forward, trying to jab at him from over the desk. "Of course I do!" She snarled, watching him make an easy dodge backward and then leap over the bit of furniture that separated them.

Their blades met often with a clink as Alice and Francis crossed swords. Alice's every jab or swing was deflected, like Francis knew what she was going to do. Then again, he probably did. He had been the one to teach her to fight, after all, and she hadn't learned very much about it on her own. Francis smirked all the while, fending off Alice's blade with a smug grin only caused her anger to grow.

This anger was no good for her, as it made her swings become clumsy. One bad jab had her at a disposition; Francis was able to maneuver his own sword in and consequently disarm Alice. "The student is no better than the teacher, hmm?" Francis asked as he grabbed her by the collar, bringing her into a headlock and aiming his sword at her chest.

"The teacher uses dirty tricks!" hissed Alice, struggling in his arms.

"Oh dear." Francis sighed softly. Then, he raised his voice, and directed it to the broken down door of his room. "Men, you can stop waiting at the doorway. And go and clean yourselves. You're covered in red."

Alice tried to turn to look, and when she did, was horrified. Francis's men stood there, watching in as if this was some kind of game, ready for spectators. They were dressed with the blood of Alice's felled crewmates, and she quivered in fear. Perhaps Francis had grown more fearsome with time. She hadn't anticipated that. She tried struggling again in Francis's arms, but he just held her tighter in the headlock. The only point of struggling now was to try and keep what little pride she had left.

"You're a troublemaker, Alice," commented Francis, tossing aside his blade for a mere moment, and roughly pulling Alice's arms back to tie her wrists. "Hasn't changed over the years. Perhaps, if I turn you in to the government, I'll get paid well."

"I'll die!" she choked, trying to kick up at Francis.

"I wouldn't want that," the Frenchman sighed, shrugging. "Well, in that case, maybe I should leave you to stew in the holding deck for a while. "

"Holding.. Holding deck?" stammered Alice, confused and frightened; she would never admit that she was the latter.

"Essentially prison upon my ship," Francis cooed, irritatingly cheerful. "Now, then." Without another word, he brought his elbow to Alice's head, and she was out cold.


	4. Shark's Bite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> all that is italicized here is a flashback >W

"You still have it?" asked Francis as Alice slowly blinked her eyes open. There was a throbbing pain in the side of her head, and she just knew there'd be a lump. She glanced around quickly, frowning in the candlelit cell she lay in. Francis was on the other side of the bars, sitting on a chair.

"What?" muttered Alice, wrists struggling against their binds.

"The token." Francis answered, pointing to Alice's chest. Oh, of course. How could she forget?

* * *

_It hurt. Her feet ached. Her stomach ached and growled, clawing at her like a beast inside her belly. Alice's cheeks were dirty, her long hair knotted and tatty. The clothes she wore were mere rags. And yet, she had walked all this way, reaching the ocean and ports. She was only young, ten years old at best._

" _Why, hello there."_

_Alice looked up at the man she'd just bumped into. Or perhaps they were a woman. With hair down to the shoulder like that, she couldn't be sure. But, regardless of their looks, the voice was masculine. "Sorry," she mumbled, looking at the ground._

" _Where're you going?" the man asked softly, crouching so that his blue eyes were level with Alice's green. "You don't look like one of the children of this town."_

" _I don't know. I'm not." She answered just as quietly, biting her lip._

" _Do you have anywhere you can go?" he sighed, gently extending his hand. "My name is Francis."_

" _Alice."_

" _Well, Alice, answer me. Are you a runaway, or something?"_

_She hesitated, but shook her head. "My mum and dad are dead." Alice mumbled bluntly. "So are my brothers."_

" _A poor child like you, all alone?" Francis tutted. "Would you like to travel with me, then?" Alice paused, wondering just how wise it would be to go with a man that she just bumped into._

" _Do you have food?" she asked meekly, hiding her eyes behind her matted hair._

" _Yes."_

_She let him lead her to the ship._

" _I called it the_ Morsure de Requin _," Francis boasted, going across the plank from dock to ship. "It means 'Shark's Bite' in English. I'm French, you see." He cooed, smiling. "I got a lot of money from my parents when they passed away, so I bought a ship. I'm a pirate now." The man chuckled, and helped Alice over the plank._

" _A pirate?" she asked, eyes wide. She'd read stories about pirates when she was younger, but never did she imagine meeting one._

" _Yes. I am a captain." Francis sang, waltzing about the deck. "We are only docked here for a few days, restocking and whatnot, and then we set out! If you wished, you could travel with us. I am always looking for new recruits." He hummed. "But, I must warn you. It is no easy life."_

" _Please." Alice mumbled, ungracefully grabbing Francis's sleeve. "I have nowhere else to go."_

_From that day on, Francis considered Alice part of his crew. He let her join in at the table, and she ate everything she could get her hands on. Once she was well fed and a lot cheerier, Francis decided to try and manage that mop of blonde that seemed to be eating her head and shoulders. It simply refused to participate, and with her consent, cut it short. He even taught her the basics of fighting, promising to teach her more once her hands were big enough to hold a sword properly._

_They set off a few days later, with Alice retreating from the deck and hiding inside a cabin. She was naturally seasick, but soon grew used to the rocking of the waves. One day upon the sea, Francis's men had been fishing, and managed to wrangle up a mighty shark. Alice went out to see it with awed eyes._

" _Ah, so you've come to look at the catch of the day, mm?" Francis hummed, turning to face his little rapscallion._

" _It's so big," marveled Alice, wandering closer and watching a man incapacitate the mighty fish. "Will we eat it?"_

" _Shark can taste quite nice if cooked properly," shrugged Francis. "Luckily for you, I'm a brilliant cook." Alice nodded with a smile, and wandered around to look at it._

_The animal's mouth was open, and she stared in at the rows of teeth that lined it. "I see why you named your ship 'Shark's Bite'." She commented. Francis paused for a moment, wandering over to glance over her shoulder._

" _You're a genius," he said suddenly, looking something like an excited puppy. "Thank you, Alice!" He chirped, wrapping his arms around her in an embrace._

" _I didn't even do anything," she refuted hotly, swatting his arms away._

_That evening, as Alice was about to go to sleep, the cabin door was opened, and Francis stood there holding a collection of something. "Everyone," he hummed, stepping inside with an excited smile. "As you're all official members of my crew, I think it's about time I give you something to show that!" He puffed proudly, lifting up the first necklace from the collection._

_It was a shark tooth, with string wound around the top and then looping up to create a necklace. Francis went about and gave the crewmembers one each, ushering them to put it around their necks. He already had one on, Alice noted. He got to Alice, and instead of simply giving it to her– he knew that she would never put it on willingly – he placed it over her head and smiled as it fell at her chest._

" _You're one of us now, Alice."_

* * *

"I only keep it on me in case I have no other weapons." Alice scoffed, glaring up at Francis as he smiled. Arsehole. "Maybe I should stab you with it."

"Now, now, I don't think you're telling me the truth," Francis huffed, opening the cell door and casually walking in. Alice felt like she was being mocked.

"Why would I bloody lie about something as stupid as this?!" Alice grunted, shuffling forward on her knees to possibly move forward and bite Francis or something.

"Oh, you couldn't possibly miss me, could you?" asked Francis, putting a gentle hand to the top of Alice's head, effectively preventing her from moving much further. "Do you miss being one of my crew?"

"Of course not!" she exclaimed, incredulous that Francis would even ask such a question. "I became my own captain for a reason!"

* * *

_Years had passed. Alice had grown stronger, and was constantly at the deck, watching the waves. She had found Francis more insufferable the more she stayed with him, and had considered breaking free more than once. Tonight was the night, she had decided._

_That evening, she went to Francis's cabin. "I'm leaving."_

"Quoi _?" Francis said quietly, looking up from his writing and tilting his head. "What was that,_ mon cher _?"_

" _I'm leaving, Francis," Alice said quietly, narrowing her eyes and looking down at the ground. "I'll fight you if needs be, but I can't be a member of your crew anymore."_

" _Alice.. What are you talking about?" he asked, voice growing a little more panicky._

" _I want my own ship. I don't want to be stuck as First Mate Alice." She explained, husky tones bitter. "If you won't let me go peacefully, I'm willing to fight you." Alice muttered, hand moving to the sword kept in her belt._

" _Oh." Francis frowned, brows knitting together. "Are you sure about this? I don't know how I'll cope without my lovely first mate."_

" _I've thought about it for over a year, Francis." Alice scowled. "I'm sick of not calling the shots."_

" _I suppose I must let you go, then." He sighed, leaning his cheek in one hand and looking down at his desk. Perhaps he was about to cry, thought Alice. Her will did not falter._

" _That's all I want." She grumbled._

" _I must warn you, though. If you are to become a captain, we will be instantly put as rivals." Francis mumbled. "I will not hesitate to fire at you, should you come too close or threaten attack. Neither will any other ship. In addition, you could face mutiny from your own crew. It's dangerous, being a captain."_

_Alice nodded, taking a few steps closer. "Thank you. There is one more thing I need of you, Francis."_

" _Mm?"_

_Alice pulled her sword from her belt, and pointed it at the unarmed Francis. Not an ounce of fear showed on her face. "All of the money you have."_

* * *

"How could I forget my first mutiny?" Francis laughed sadly, sitting in front of Alice, legs crossed basket-style. "It was very cruel of you to take me for everything I had."

"I needed to buy a ship and supplies. I also needed some incentive for people to join my crew." Alice sneered. "I knew exactly how much money you had. Rich bastard."

"And yet, you kept what tied you to me," Francis mused softly, reaching down and touching the shark's tooth that rested at Alice's chest. "I'm surprised at you, Alice."

"Don't touch it-" she muttered before she could think about her words.

"Oh?" Francis raised a brow. "What's this?" Alice stayed silent. He took the tooth in his fingers, running his thumb along its contours. "It's still in brilliant condition." He said quietly.

"Get your dirty fingers off of it," Alice growled, lips curled in a snarl. "Either let go or stab yourself with it."

"Oh my," Francis frowned. "Why so defensive?" He asked, starting to lift the pendant. When the string lifted to about Alice's eye level, she moved frantically.

"Stop it! Stop it right now! Leave it!" She shouted, trying to jerk forward and headbutt Francis. He let go, confused and slightly entertained by Alice's attachment.

Puffing, she turned away so that she would not have to face this man.

"I don't understand, Alice." Francis conceded with a sigh.

"I'd never miss a bastard like you," she spat. "I only wear it still because it serves as a reminder of how I used to be."

"Sweet and curious. You used to be sweet and curious," he answered, running a hand through his hair. "You're still a fine pirate, though."

"What's the deal with this, anyway? You just decide to keep me locked up here? My crew won't just sit and allow this." She spat, changing the subject so that she would not grow any more upset.

"Perhaps I could set your ship alight," murmured Francis, and Alice's eyes widened in fright. Seeing her expression, he shrugged, and laughed softly. "I'm pulling your leg. A pirate's ship is as much of a member of the crew as any man. Then again, we have incapacitated, what, about half your crew thanks to this raid of yours?" She frowned, biting her lip.

"Don't touch her." She spat. "Leave the Unicorn alone."

"I shall, although I cannot make any promises about those who reside within her." Francis shrugged. "I told you many years ago, a pirate rarely goes easy on another just because of old relations." He sighed. "You know that better than most, I suppose." Alice's mind quickly went from memory to Amelia, and she fretted. If Francis knew that a former captive of his was aboard her ship.. Well, surely, his raid would be much more swiftly executed.

"Nothing more to say?" Francis sighed, standing up. "I suppose this is goodnight, then." Alice glanced up to him, creased brows and a scowl. "You've really grown up, Alice." With that, he left.

* * *

Amelia awoke from her slumber, yawning and stretching as morning light shone in through the cabin. The bed was still empty? She frowned. Where was Alice? Hadn't she made a promise?

 


	5. A Shot in the Dark

Amelia left the cabin in a worried manner, accidentally knocking over her washtub in her moment of frenzy. The first person she saw upon the deck was a short man, dressed in a fine red coat, and he had dark copper hair that flicked in the wind.

"Hey!" Amelia hollered, hauling herself towards him with an anxious feeling. "Where's Captain Kirkland?!"

Yao turned, jumping a little at the sight of the mermaid. His expression became sullied at the mention of Alice. "You must be that Amelia she talks about," he mumbled. "The raid was a failure."

"What does that mean?" huffed Amelia.

"She's been taken prisoner," he murmured, eyes glued to the  _Morsure de Requin_. "That damned Frenchman wants a high price in exchange for her return. We simply don't have the money."

"But you can steal it, right?" Amelia said quietly, fiddling with her curls. "Or take it from somewhere?.. You're gonna get Alice back, right?"

"We can't." Yao frowned, leaning his elbows upon the deck's railing. "We don't even half enough of our crew left to launch any kind of raid in town."

"Then trade me in!"

Yao turned, and tilted his head. "What on earth do you m-"

"Trade me in!" repeated Amelia, face determined as she stamped her hand against the deck's planks. "I used ta' be a captive on his ship, since I'm totally an 'exotic lover'." He scoffed, putting on an awful French accent for those last two words. "So trade me for her."

"Are you really sure that's something you want to do?" he asked, made curious by this scheme. "From what Alice has told, you only just escaped him."

"Hey, I want her to be happy and safe!" Amelia puffed, indignant that her legitimacy was being questioned.

"You have gall, mermaid," Yao murmured. "You're also a fool. But if it's for the captain, anything to help should be done."

Yao brought Amelia to Francis's ship, calling for that scoundrel to come to deck to consider the trade. He appeared before too long, standing at the ship's head and staring down at the curious pair upon the dock.

"You were calling for me?" he bellowed, a smirk on his lips.

"The crew of the Blue Unicorn propose a trade!" grunted Yao, forcing these words out of his throat. "This mermaid for our captain!" Francis's eyes grew wide at the sight of Amelia, and his face flushed a little. Almost hungrily, he answered.

"Accepted! I'll fetch your end of the bargain," he chirped, seeming to be very cheery about getting this fantastical creature back aboard his own ship. He scurried to the holding deck, out of sight. Francis returned a minute or so later, dragging Alice along by the collar. Her feet and wrists were bound with rope, and she was gagged with a piece of torn cloth. "She has quite a bite, doesn't she?" laughed the captain, shrugging and rubbing a little spot on his hand.

As Alice was helped down, she could only stare as Amelia was taken up to the ship. She stared between she and Yao in confusion, eyes wide with panic. It was too late for her to reach Amelia once Yao finally undid her binds and gag.

"Amelia!" she yelped, staring up rather uselessly as the men aboard the ship started to raise anchor. They had done all they had come to do, after all; what was the point in staying any longer?

Yao just hissed and held the feisty Brit back by the shoulder. "Alice, stop it," he snarled, trying to quell her anger and frustration. "We just got you back, at the price of someone who's little more than a stranger to us," he muttered.

"She's not a stranger to me!" grunted Alice, struggling to free her arms from Yao's strong hold.

"Have some sense! We've lost half the crew to him!"

This seemed to knock Alice back to her senses, and she frowned, rubbing her arm. "Yao, let's follow him." She murmured sourly, taking her weapons expert's arm and practically dragging him to the Blue Unicorn. "We'll strike him down for the last time out at sea." She was quite confident in her strength. Perhaps that was a little pig-headed of her.

They returned to the Blue Unicorn and Alice spoke to the remainder of her crew, telling and urging them to be brave. They were to get revenge on Captain Bonnefoy; that fact seemed to fire the men up incredibly. She had a group of hot-blooded pirates at her command, and she felt fearless.

Even though they were slow and trailed behind it vaguely, Alice and her crew stared at the  _Morsure de Requin_. It took them most of the morning to catch up. Once they did, Alice headed to the deck, only watching as her men began to leap over the gap between ships. She hesitated, having looked down at the lapping waves below. Little did she know that those waves were to be crucial in her fate.

Closing her eyes, she took the leap, and landed upon the Frenchman's ship. Her men were already charging it, shouting and bellowing words and curses. They were a brave lot, thought Alice. She was armed with a pistol, not her own, since Francis had confiscated those. This pistol only held three shots, and she was a shoddy reloader.

Alice charged through the mayhem and clamor of the fighting around her, gun in her hand as she stormed down into the lower decks. Bonnefoy was such a coward, hiding in his cabin while his men fought valiantly above. Alice  _hated_  him. She kicked down his door, ignoring the splitting pain in her heel; it was nothing compared to the burning hatred and anger in her heart.

She did not hesitate. She raised the gun to the man at the desk, adjusted her aim, and fired. Francis jolted back in his seat as the bullet pierced his shoulder, and he yelped in pain and clutched at the wound to try and stop blood from spurting out.

"Bonnefoy!" Alice practically howled, voice raising and becoming more powerful as she rushed forward, putting a boot up on his desk and sticking the pistol's mouth against Francis's forehead. "Where the hell is my mermaid?!"

He grit his teeth, but otherwise stayed still, in pain and admittedly a little intimidated by Alice's ferocity. She had a smoldering green fire in her eyes, one that burned brighter than the sun. It was terrifying. "The holding deck," Francis spat, a bit of hair falling towards his eyes. "Go to hell, Alice." He cursed, biting his lip and clutching at his shoulder.

She gave him a momentary stare, before putting her nose up and turning to go and locate Amelia. It didn't take her long to charge along and find her friend.

"Alice?!" Amelia gawked, staring at the Briton with worried eyes. She just shuffled forward in her cell a little. "Why're you here? You should be safe right now!"

"What the hell did you think you were doing?!" Alice snarled, not hesitating a moment before blowing the lock off the cell door with her pistol. "Amelia, you foolish girl!"

Amelia just quivered, a little shocked at the outburst. "I was trying to rescue-"

"No! Shut up!" Alice interjected, storming into the cell and recklessly shooting the lock of the chains that bound the mermaid. "I would've got out by myself, and you wouldn't have needed to put yourself in danger like that!"

"Alice, I was just trying to.." Amelia trailed off, frowning and hurt. "I wanted you to be safe, I-.. I.." She whimpered. Alice took a deep breath, and tried to calm herself down.

"I'm sorry for shouting. I just want you to be safe, that's all. You worried me greatly." She mumbled, knuckles white as she gripped tighter onto her pistol. "But we need to go. I shot Francis in the shoulder, and I doubt he's just going to sit around and let me rescue you." Amelia nodded weakly, and let Alice lead her up to the deck.

Men were still fighting to all sides, although noticeably fewer of either crew still stood. Alice and Amelia reached the edge of the deck before a voice interrupted their escape.

"Hands up, or I'll shoot."

"Francis," muttered Alice, turning slowly and facing the man. He had clearly taken the time to bandage his arm, but his expression showed pure rage. Amelia shuffled a little closer to her captain. She did not raise her arms just yet.

"Hands up!" he barked, adjusting the aim of his pistol, pointing the barrel right at Alice's chest.

"Alright, alright-" she mumbled, slowly lifting both hands. She was still clutching the pistol. In a smooth movement, she brought it up, aimed it at Francis, and pulled the trigger.

He smirked.

Click. Where was the bullet? Alice felt the blood drain from her face. Right. She'd used two of those bullets on freeing Amelia. The other was probably buried in Francis's shoulder. Knowing that it was useless, she threw the pistol down at the ground in front of her. It bounced away, and clattered to a halt a little way across the deck.

"I counted your shots!" bellowed Francis, taking a confident step closer. "You're a fool, Kirkland!"

"Hardly!" Alice snapped, clenching her raised hands into fists. "Do you really have the heart to kill your own former crewmate?!"

"You have the heart to shoot yours," argued Francis, gritting his teeth and glancing down to his shoulder for but a second. "I'm sick of the games, Alice.  _Au revoir_."

Amelia had been watching the situation with her ocean's eyes. She could see how things would play out. And in the instant that Francis pulled the trigger, she had burst into the air, shielding Alice from the bullet, and knocking both she and her captain down, over the deck's rails, and toward the sea.

As they fell, Alice could do naught but scream, her terror only increasing as she saw the blood from Amelia's back go upward as they went down. Her arms came quickly around the mermaid's body, and she held on tighter than she thought possible as they plummeted. The following series of events was a bit of a blur to Alice. All she really remembered was the splash of her body hitting the ocean, and then waking up upon the shore.

Groggily, Alice wiped her eyes and stared upward. The sky was bright blue, and it was clearly morning. How long had she been blacked out? And Francis- "Shit!" She exclaimed suddenly, jolting up to a seated position.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," hummed a familiar voice, and Alice turned. Right there, laying in the sand, was Amelia.

"What's going on?" asked Alice rather weakly, rubbing her eyes a little more and shuffling towards the mermaid. "What happened with Francis?.."

"You don't remember?.. He tried to shoot you, so I totally saved your life." Amelia huffed, crossing her arms. Alice recalled the event rather quickly.

"Oh.. Wait, you got shot, didn't you?" she mumbled, panic working into her voice. "Amelia, are you okay-"

"It just grazed my back," she lied, shrugging. "Don't worry. "

"Alright.." Alice huffed, going over and simply embracing her. "You stupid, foolish mermaid," she mumbled, burying her face into Amelia's shoulder and trying to ignore the strong smell of salt water. "I owe you my life."

"You don't owe me anything," argued Amelia, cuddling Alice close to her. "I just did what I had to do, and totally saved your butt."

"How'd you even get to shore?.." Alice said weakly, shifting her position so that it was a little more comfortable for Amelia to hug her. "I thought your fin-"

"Do you know how quickly mermaids heal?" Amelia scoffed softly, rolling her eyes. "We're like, super awesome."

"Right.. I don't even know if I can get back to my ship," Alice whined softly.

"Matthew's gonna lead her to this island," assured Amelia. "He was trying to flee in a lifeboat while I was rescuing you. He thought you'd died, and he'd given up."

"I'm going to have to punish him for that," Alice laughed weakly.

For a while after that conversation, they stayed silent, simply hugging one another and being thankful for their existence. Amelia broke the silence.

"Hey, y'know, I think you do owe me something." She was huffing, clearly frustrated about something. Alice loosened her hold on the mermaid for a moment.

"Mm? Anything you want."

And before Alice could protest, Amelia's lips were quickly pressed against her own.

Amelia had never kissed before. She had once seen humans do it, and other mermaids, but it was a completely alien concept to her. But after trying it, she decided that it felt _right_. Alice pulled back after a moment of shock, pale cheeks reddened in embarrassment. And perhaps fright. There was a moment then, where their eyes locked, and then Alice stared away. But, slowly, her gaze returned to the mermaid's face.

Slowly, timidly, Alice's hand reached up to cup Amelia's cheek, and their lips met again. Alice found herself melting into Amelia's arms. One kiss turned into two, and then three, and then more, until Alice found herself pressed greedily to the irresistible girl.

"Sorry." She coughed, realising that her hands had been wandering.

"It's alright!" squeaked Amelia, tanned cheeks very red. "B-but Matthew's here, so we should probably stop!" Alice turned, only vaguely registering what her dear mermaid had said.

There stood Matthew on the shore, one hand on his hip, and a brow raised at the two. He was little more than surprised when he saw them, one atop the other, lips locked in a bout of infatuation. "Am I interrupting something? I can just go wait elsewhere-"

"D-don't worry!" stammered Alice, getting up in an instant and helping Amelia sit up as well. "It's fine!"

"Alright,  _lovebirds_ ," Matthew mocked softly, turning around and staring up at the Blue Unicorn.

She was a bit battered, but the ship still sat on the horizon, and a dinghy had been beached.

"We  _aren't_  lovebirds," scowled Alice, heavily embarrassed. "But anyway, to more important matters!" How did everything go with Francis?! Is the bastard dead?"

"No," answered Matthew, running a hand through his hair. "And he will surely pursue us. We managed to recover our crew from the last raid."

"I thought he killed them-"

"Incapacitated. They were just stowed away in the second holding deck, as prisoners."

Alice let out her held breath, and sighed. "If he's going to follow us, we'll just have to strike him twice as hard as he strikes us." She decreed, shivering in her damp coat.

"Oh, Alice?" Amelia mumbled, frowning and nervous. "I, erm.. Francis told me about the whole necklace thingy." Alice felt sick almost instantly.

"He did, did he?" she muttered softly, reaching up to her chest to touch at the shark's tooth. She froze when she did not find it.

"I threw it away."

Alice's eyes widened. "You what?" She barked, feeling anxiety claw at her throat. "Amelia, how dare-"

"It was an anchor!"

"Amelia does have a point." Matthew offered softly, bowing his head. "Weren't you always staring up into the sky and holding onto that? Weren't you being held back by it?" Amelia puffed out her cheeks.

"I was trying to help."

Alice hesitated, but slowly brought her arms around Amelia again.

"I'm sorry.." she said rather weakly. "But thank you.. Thanks for freeing me, Amelia."

"It's nothing I wouldn't do for you, Alice." Amelia huffed softly.

"Now.. Maybe we should get back to the Unicorn?" the captain suggested softly, gently kissing Amelia's shoulder, and then smirking. "We have a French bastard to run from."


End file.
